have it

Idioms  

1. Receive or learn something, as in I have it on the best authority that he's running again . [Late 1600s]

2. Possess a solution, understand, as in Is this the new phone number? Do I have it straight? or I think I have it now . [Mid-1800s]

3. Take it, as in There's some ice cream left; go ahead and have it . This usage is always put as an imperative. [Second half of 1300s]

4. Have the victory, win, as in We've counted the votes and the nays have it . The related expressions have it over someone or have it all over someone mean “to be superior to someone.” For example, Jane has it all over Mary when it comes to reading aloud . [Early 1900s]

5. let someone have it . Give a beating, scolding, or punishment. For example, When she gets home Dad will let her have it . [Mid-1800s]

6. have it off . Have sexual intercourse, as in The two dogs were having it off in the backyard . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with have it ; not have it .

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Example Sentences

"Last year we had an awfully dry summer which impacted yields drastically so now with our energy prices being hit like they have, it just feels like one thing after another."

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

That said, incoming Fed chair Kevin Warsh doesn’t have it easy either, Stiglitz added.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

“That’s how you grow as a leader, how you earn credibility with your players, if you don’t think you have it all together all the time,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Feeling like this milestone was within reach, only to have it slip away because of the pressure you’re being put under to choose another property, is devastating.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

It was one thing to believe that such things were possible thousands of years ago, another to have it happen now, to us, this very day.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom